Last year, Vietnam sent 4,837 guest workers to the RoK, most of them working in the manufacturing sector. The number of Vietnamese guest workers saw a slight decrease in 2009 due to the negative impact of the global financial crisis. However, this year will probably achieve better results as the world economy is recovering.

Phan Van Minh, Director of the Foreign Labour Centre under the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, says the RoK will create conditions for Vietnamese applicants to take a Korean language exam. All Vietnamese people learning the Korean language can register to take the exam.

This will increase the number of Vietnamese nationals who are qualified to work in the RoK. However, he says, it may also cause difficulties because the number of qualified workers will be much higher than those to be recruited.

Functional agencies will introduce proper measures to provide guest workers with the best conditions to work in the RoK, Mr Minh adds.